evilzombie20
05-03-2007, 02:39 PM
I posted this same review over at the JoeHorror forums so if you're on there, and seen my review on there - you've read this. Comment or move on. Otherwise, enjoy!
Wow. An urban horror movie I enjoyed! Holy crap in a pita I think I almost had a heart attack there. I said "urban horror" and "enjoyed" in the same sentence...generally there's a "did not" in between those two but with this movie the "did not" can go on vacation. (Notice how I skillfully used a sentence dragging on about my use of common words and notice the skills I'm showing in getting you to read this explanation explaining it which pertains to nothing other than a waste of space and time. Congratulations. I've won.)
Anyways, the film started off in a very non-typical way, a comet crashes on top of a group of religious homeless nuts and soon turns their corpses into green slime spewing zombies. Two rival gangs are getting together in a nearby warehouse while the police observe as a deal between said gangs goes down. As things take a turn for the worst they get much worst when the zombie horde discovers the police squad waiting outside to arrest the gangs and starts munching down. Stirred up by all the commotion the gangs take a peak outside to find the police being torn to bits by the undead. A pair of officers barely makes it out by the skin on their teeth and rushes into the warehouse. The group soon realizes they must work together to survive as the living dead outside try to bash their way in. Can two rival gangs and a couple of police officers manage to not kill each other before the zombies do?
Well peeps, that's something you're going to have to find out for yourselves because I'm not going to give it away BUT there's plenty of guy munching and zombie carnage to please even the most distinguished zombie fan. There's even a nice scene involving someone's jaw and a horde of hungry zombies - you ever seen a human Pez dispenser? Now is your chance.
This movie was really enjoyable. Not poorly acted, although some actors/actresses were better than others and some of the dialog was stale and flat but most zombie films have this flaw along with the lack of logic on the characters' part (that's in here too) but the film still manages to work. With some creative shots, nice gore effects, and some of the better low budget acting I've seen in a micro budget film - GANGS OF THE DEAD is a fun zombie romp. It chills. It thrills. Most importantly, plenty of the red stuff spills.
The one thing that would've solidified this into getting a 4 star review would have been more of the gore and less talking. There's a few points in the film where all the characters do is talk, and talk, and talk, and talk, by the time they're done talking you have no idea what they were talking about and just want to see someone get killed. Thankfully someone knew what they were doing because they either deliver on the kill part or shove more zombies in our face in their rotten glory. I also must point out these zombies look awesome. Full face appliances give them a nice rotten look and of course the few background zombies with minor gore and face paint are present but hell they're awesome too! For a film with such a low budget, it had a great EFX team. Now the CGI...well even though it's only used for things they needed it for - with the exception of head shots, squibs people; SQUIBS - that doesn't look so great. But it's a low budget zombie film, if you're expecting George Lucas' CGI effects - move on, this one's not for you and you're no longer fit for human interaction.
All in all, the film has it's flaws but it has it's high points. Just like any other zombie film out there. Give it a shot, what have you really got to loose? Aside from the money it will cost you to either rent or purchase it and the 88 minutes you'll be watching it but other than that - what? Like you have something better to watch. Go on, try it out.
GANGS OF THE DEAD - *** 1/2/*****
a.k.a. LAST RITES
Running Time: 88 Minutes
2007
Directed by: Duane Stinnett
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/a_little_voice/GANGSCOLLAGE.jpg
Wow. An urban horror movie I enjoyed! Holy crap in a pita I think I almost had a heart attack there. I said "urban horror" and "enjoyed" in the same sentence...generally there's a "did not" in between those two but with this movie the "did not" can go on vacation. (Notice how I skillfully used a sentence dragging on about my use of common words and notice the skills I'm showing in getting you to read this explanation explaining it which pertains to nothing other than a waste of space and time. Congratulations. I've won.)
Anyways, the film started off in a very non-typical way, a comet crashes on top of a group of religious homeless nuts and soon turns their corpses into green slime spewing zombies. Two rival gangs are getting together in a nearby warehouse while the police observe as a deal between said gangs goes down. As things take a turn for the worst they get much worst when the zombie horde discovers the police squad waiting outside to arrest the gangs and starts munching down. Stirred up by all the commotion the gangs take a peak outside to find the police being torn to bits by the undead. A pair of officers barely makes it out by the skin on their teeth and rushes into the warehouse. The group soon realizes they must work together to survive as the living dead outside try to bash their way in. Can two rival gangs and a couple of police officers manage to not kill each other before the zombies do?
Well peeps, that's something you're going to have to find out for yourselves because I'm not going to give it away BUT there's plenty of guy munching and zombie carnage to please even the most distinguished zombie fan. There's even a nice scene involving someone's jaw and a horde of hungry zombies - you ever seen a human Pez dispenser? Now is your chance.
This movie was really enjoyable. Not poorly acted, although some actors/actresses were better than others and some of the dialog was stale and flat but most zombie films have this flaw along with the lack of logic on the characters' part (that's in here too) but the film still manages to work. With some creative shots, nice gore effects, and some of the better low budget acting I've seen in a micro budget film - GANGS OF THE DEAD is a fun zombie romp. It chills. It thrills. Most importantly, plenty of the red stuff spills.
The one thing that would've solidified this into getting a 4 star review would have been more of the gore and less talking. There's a few points in the film where all the characters do is talk, and talk, and talk, and talk, by the time they're done talking you have no idea what they were talking about and just want to see someone get killed. Thankfully someone knew what they were doing because they either deliver on the kill part or shove more zombies in our face in their rotten glory. I also must point out these zombies look awesome. Full face appliances give them a nice rotten look and of course the few background zombies with minor gore and face paint are present but hell they're awesome too! For a film with such a low budget, it had a great EFX team. Now the CGI...well even though it's only used for things they needed it for - with the exception of head shots, squibs people; SQUIBS - that doesn't look so great. But it's a low budget zombie film, if you're expecting George Lucas' CGI effects - move on, this one's not for you and you're no longer fit for human interaction.
All in all, the film has it's flaws but it has it's high points. Just like any other zombie film out there. Give it a shot, what have you really got to loose? Aside from the money it will cost you to either rent or purchase it and the 88 minutes you'll be watching it but other than that - what? Like you have something better to watch. Go on, try it out.
GANGS OF THE DEAD - *** 1/2/*****
a.k.a. LAST RITES
Running Time: 88 Minutes
2007
Directed by: Duane Stinnett
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/a_little_voice/GANGSCOLLAGE.jpg